Iranian and Singaporean officials discussed launching a joint bank, in an attempt to ease investments and commercial relations, said head of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mining and Agriculture, Mohsen Jalalpour, following his visit to Asian country this week.
“We also discussed 24 other fields of cooperation during the visit, including technology, tourism, shipping, renewable energy and new auditing practices,” ILNA quoted him as saying on Friday.
The proposed bank would work according to Singapore’s banking rules, he added.
Javad Ansari, Iran’s ambassador to Singapore, announced the CEO of DBS Bank (Development Bank of Singapore), Peter Seah Lim Huat, will travel to Tehran to discuss banking ties. DBS Bank is the largest bank in South East Asia by assets and among the largest in Asia.
Tharman Shanmugaratnam, head of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, is planning to invite the central bank chief, Valiolah Seif, to the country in discuss expansion of relations, Ansari said.
The MAS reversed its prohibition on transactions with the Iranian government and financial Institutions in late January soon after the nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers came into effect.
Before the US tightened the sanctions in 2012, Singapore’s bilateral trade with Iran was in the region of $4.9 billion in 2011, data from the its ministry of trade and industry shows.
After the sanctions were imposed, Singapore’s bilateral trade with Iran fell to $1.9 billion in 2012. Last year, trade with Iran amounted to a paltry $126.8 million.
